Christmas is only 9 Saturdays away, so let’s talk about holiday shopping! Before you can say, “That’s crazy, it’s only October”, it will be December twenty-something, and you’ll wonder how the holidays snuck up on you so fast. And, not sure if you noticed, but your kids started compiling their wish lists around Boxing Day last year. And what if many of those longed for items on your kids’ (and husband’s) lists aren’t available or are way too expensive here in Hong Kong? You’ll spend more time than you want to trying to convince your child that an American Girl doll isn’t as great as that cool scooter you saw at that shop down the street. Well, you are in luck, Santa. PacMe, a package forwarder, will provide you with a US mailing address and deliver that doll and all your other purchases to Hong Kong with great savings on shipping and excellent customer service.

PacMe was started by Singapore resident, Ken Crouse and his uncle, Randy Wilson after Crouse spent years trying out different consolidation services which actually saved him money and offered him acceptable customer service. Although competition in the industry was fierce, Crouse and Wilson vowed to bring a new player to the game that was easy to use and lived up to its promises: a true consolidation/repacking service which is how you save on shipping fees, and customer service that actually works no matter where you are in the world. And that’s just what they did.

PacMe offers true, money-saving repacking services that can often cut the billable weight of a shipment by up to half. “Dimensional weight is the mystery of our industry,” says Randy, “It is not very well understood. Simply put, if there is empty space in your box, you are probably paying for it!” The money saved by customers in the end, due to this attention to detail and proper repacking, has them never going back to any of the other consolidation companies. Michelle, now a loyal PacMe customer, learned this the hard way. “I heard about a company advertising the lowest per kg shipping rate so tried them out,” says Michelle. “Big mistake! They didn’t repack properly and I ended up paying way more than what I would have with PacMe. I’ll never do that again!”

And PacMe goes the distance to give their customers the best service possible. Ken and Randy treat their customers like they want to be treated, and personally see to it that every customer is a happy one. They gained a life-long customer in Michelle when she recently ordered some comfort food and items she was missing from home. “Ken notified me that there was some extra space in my last shipment so they went out and bought me extra donuts as a surprise. Who does that??? The customer service is so ridiculously good that I’m a forever customer.” Another standout customer experience is that of Vivien, who was blown away with the level of service when Ken hand carried some items which wouldn’t fit in her shipment all the way to Singapore. These accounts of PacMe’s superior customer service are endless. And in the bustle and commotion of trying to get those gifts ticked off the list, friendly and responsive customer service is priceless.

And here’s some news that will have you merry and bright, now through the holidays, all Sassy Mama readers can sign up for a free account, valued at US$40, at PacMe.com. Simply enter code SASSYHK when signing up for an account.

So let PacMe help you tackle that holiday list and expand your gift-giving possibilities by making shopping in the US all the way from Hong Kong, easy and affordable. Now the kids’ holiday wish lists don’t seem quite as daunting. You can do it all online without any shipping obstacles or restrictions. And hey, while you’re at it, you can get those shoes you wish you had picked up last time you were in the States. And that jacket. And all those amazing holiday-edition egg nog flavoured goodies. Oh yeah, with PacMe, the holidays are looking very, very happy.

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